Abstract
The Summit is Reached
In politics, a summit is an international
gathering of people interested
in world cooperation; in geography, a
summit is the highest peak; in rhetoric,
a summit is a high point in
human achievement. In aviculture, the
recent Siskin Summit was all of these
and more!
On August 21, 1993, about 50 people
gathered in Kansas City, Missouri
to participate in the first annual Siskin
Summit. The AFA Red Siskin Project
(RSP), which seeks to establish a
healthy, genetically-diverse captive
breeding population of this endangered
finch, met as a group to analyze
the current status of the project and to
plan for its future. The goals of the
Siskin Summit were many:
1) to inspect and improve the general
organization of the project,
2) to learn about genetics and other
dynamics in establishing a captive
breeding population which will someday
be appropriate for re-release into
protected wild habitat,
3) to discuss fiscal requirements of
an ambitious, completely privately
funded project such as this,
4) to explore actual mechanics of rerelease,
5) to meet with representatives from
the Red Siskin's natural habitat range
in Venezuela, and many more.
Cool Crest Family Fun Center in
Kansas City was the site for the Siskin
Summit. Yvonne Patterson, promotional
director for the RSP, hosted the
Summit and organized the meeting
areas, meals, and social activities. All
agreed that the Siskin Summit atmosphere
was a fabulous mixture of
home-style comfort, professional
discourse, scientific interchange and
festive camaraderie.
Down to Business
In the opening moments of the
actual Siskin Summit business day,
RSP Director Kevin Gorman was presented
with a plaque of appreciation
for his leadership. In pa1t, the plaque
read, "You have helped us turn our
ideals into actions." Shortly after
accepting his award, he began the
proceedings by showing a ve1y colorful
and inspiring slide show about the
Red Siskin (Carduelis cucculatta). He
described how pet-trade trapping has
driven this little finch to the brink of
extinction in its native Venezuela, and
how the RSP has undertaken a mission to save this bird.
Next, Antonio Rivero, just in from
Venezuela to attend the Siskin Summit,
spoke on the plight of the Red Siskin
in the wild. A private aviculturist
and conservationist himself, Professor
Rivero told of his own country's role
in the international exploitation of the
Red Siskin. He spoke with passion
and energy of his desire to rectify this
situation by aiding the RSP in its mission.
He also gave a slide show of the
Red Siskin and its native habitat.
Professor Rivero was gracious and
appreciative for his invitation (the provisions
of his ticket fare were paid for
by the AFA's RSP).
Robert Smith, Ph.D., ecologist representing
the Venezuelan government,
accompanied Professor Rivero from
Venezuela to provide a slide show
about the government's interests in
the Red Siskin. He spoke of the difficult
political and financial issues relating
to ensuring protected habitat in
Venezuela. He also made the important
point that it is, indeed, trapping
which has pushed the Red Siskin so
near extinction, since habitat is available
and suitable for the bird and its
needs. Indeed, he said, the Red Siskin's
requirements are very compatible
with traditional Venezuelan
farming and land management. He
presented information on various rerelease
site possibilities. He also
offered the support of the Venezuelan
government (in particular, the interim
president, who sponsored and paid
for his trip to the Siskin Summit) to the
RSP, and expressed the hope of being
more actively involved in the future.
Professor Jim Hardin, wildlife biologist
from the University of Wisconsin
at Stevens Point, spoke on the philosophy
and mechanics of captive
breeding population management. He
used flipsheets and lectured to present
the many subtleties involved in captive
breeding: genetic diversity must
be analyzed and maintained, characteristics
of wild populations must be
explored and utilized in making captive
breeding decisions, and various
computer-aided techniques can help
us pursue these ideas.
Mary Cahow, biologist, also from
the University of Wisconsin at Stevens
Point, presented her ongoing Master's
research on the songs and calls of the
Red Siskin, for which she has received
grants from the RSP. She is now carrying
out a highly complex study of the
Red Siskin call notes. She showed us
some of her techniques, which
included direct sound analysis, and
more. She hopes to discover the
extent to which the Red Siskin's call
notes are learned and/ or innate, and
how this may impact captive breeding
and evenn1al re-release. Her work will
be invaluable as the RSP moves closer
to reintroduction. Moreover, her work
will be of great interest to the ornithological
and general scientific communities
as well, since it will give
more information on the nature of
learned versus innate behaviors in
animals. Mary also has a special affinity
for the Red Siskin, since she is a
successful project breeder as well as a
researcher.
Steve Fowler, associate breeder and
long-term supporter of the RSP, spoke
on his current breeding facilities and
gave much useful information about
hygiene maintenance, infection control
and general aviary management.